MOSCOW, June 2. /TASS/. Attempts by some countries to retain dominance have led to chaos and anarchy in the Middle East and a war in Ukraine, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said on Thursday.

"Attempts by a narrow group of states to reverse objective tendencies towards the development of a polycentric democratic system of international relations in a hope to achieve unilateral advantages, ensure global dominance are a major destabilizing factor," the foreign minister said at a reception marking Orthodox Easter.

"This destructive policy comes into clear contradiction with the reality, cultural-civilizational diversity of the present-day world, a natural desire of the peoples to decide their future themselves," the foreign minister added.

"This policy contributed to the spread of chaos and anarchy on vast spaces of the Middle East and North Africa, to Ukraine’s sliding towards an internal political crisis and fratricidal war," Lavrov added.